1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to wheeled vehicles, including bicycles, tricycles and various four wheel vehicles, and more specifically to such vehicles having different-sized wheels and hub eccentricities.
2. Description of Related Art
Many inventions and patents have described bicycles, and other wheeled vehicles propelled by the human body, having eccentric wheel arrangements and apparatuses for adjusting wheel eccentricity. Wheel eccentricity promotes an oscillatory motion in vehicles, making the ride more entertaining and enhancing the vehicle's exercise intensity level.
Several related inventions and patents involve the eccentric wheel itself. U.S. Pat. No. 423,051 discloses a wheel having an axle designed to move within and independent of the rotation of the wheel. The wheel of U.S. Pat. No. 3,371,944 includes a center hub having an axle whose position relative to the axis of the wheel can be varied as desired, while in motion. Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 4,917,394 discloses an eccentric rear wheel for a bicycle, where a slidable block-pinion arrangement causes the wheel to rotate eccentrically. Also of note, a pair of spring-biased pins engages a block to facilitate movement along an axle-supporting track in the eccentric bicycle wheel of U.S. Pat. No. 5,249,847.
Another group of related U.S. patents involves means for adjusting the hub and axle of bicycle wheels to create an eccentric arrangement thereof. U.S. Pat. No. 3,799,581, for example, discloses a bicycle wheel hub having an adjustable eccentric mounting. The apparatuses of U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,588,232 and 4,602,822 enable the eccentric varying of a bicycle wheel axle and shaft, respectively. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,755,005 discloses axle-varying means for an eccentric wheel.
While these inventions and patents involve wheels, axles and other individual bicycle components, other related U.S. patents describe entire bicycles, or other vehicles, having eccentrically arranged wheel hubs. The wheeled amusement and exercise vehicle of U.S. Pat. No. 2,555,480 has, alternatively, three or four eccentrically mounted wheels and other rearrangeable components, which provide a bouncing, undulatory, up and down movement while riding. Additionally, the hub-axle-wheel arrangement of the vehicle of '480 can be modified so as to superimpose a regularly repeating side-to-side swaying of the vehicle on its up and down movement.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,292,946 discloses a bicycle having front and rear wheels eccentrically mounted by a differing amount with respect to each other. The difference in wheel eccentricities provides a modulation effect with an up and down motion that simulates the action of a forward moving see-saw or a bucking bronco. However, the bicycle of '946 is a toy vehicle, providing an amusing and entertaining ride for children.
The exercise bicycle of U.S. Pat. No. 4,162,084 features wheels having hub eccentricities that provide a variety of compound oscillatory motions of the bicycle frame and rider. In doing so, the bicycle of '084 more effectively exercises the body of the rider, subjecting it to accelerations similar to those experienced in riding a horse. Specifically, a brisk gallop sensation is created when the wheel eccentricities are in phase with each other, while out-of-phase wheel eccentricities produce a bucking bronco simulation.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,518,176 discloses a crank-operated vehicle with eccentrically mounted wheels and a chassis divided into a front and rear sections pivoted together. The crank driving system of the vehicle of '176 comprises a pair of driving wheels attached with opposite eccentricity to a common driving shaft that supports one of the chassis sections. The axis of the driving shaft connecting the wheels intersects a theoretical line passing through the center of the driving wheels at an acute angle. One driving wheel is fixed non-rotatably to the shaft while the other one is attached for free rotation relative to the shaft.
The adjustable riding toy of U.S. Pat. No. 5,553,878 has bicycle and tricycle embodiments. At least one wave ride wheel, eccentrically mounted, enables an up and down ride on the vehicle, while synchronized eccentrically mounted wave ride wheels creates a side to side wobble of the riding toy.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.